When most Americans think of Vietnamese cuisine they either think of the Pho (Beef Noodle Soup originated from the north) or Bánh mì (Vietnamese sandwich). How about some specific Southern Vietnamese food? Our friend Huan points us to Á Châu Deli- a small 400 sq. feet cute little family run deli shop in Chinatown NYC. Yes it is a deli that has a variety of Bánh mì, but what draw us here is their weekend specials- Bún Riêu on Saturday and Bun Mam on Sunday.

Á Châu Deli’s version of Bún Riêu ($6) is a noodle soup made of medium mungbean noodles and topped with actual crab pieces with shrimp paste, served in a tomato based broth and garnished with bean sprout, prawn paste, herb leaves, water spinach, and tomato chunks. The taste is very sweet and smooth with lots of favour bounce in my mouth.

Their Bun Mam ($6) is a special Southern Vietnamese vermicelli noodle soup cooked with fermented/ pickled fish broth topped with shrimps, pork, fish, bean sprouts, mint and shredded cabbage. The taste is very complex, pungent, sweet and spicy and I say it’s the Vietnamese seafood version of Menudo in Mexico.

One tip- most of the time you have to wait for at least 15-20 mins for the dish to be done because the momma chef is down in the basement cooking one bowl from scratch every time. So it is better to call them up earlier and have it ready for pick up. Another thing is they only have 2 counter seats for in-room dining. We suggest that you take it to-go and eat it at Columbus Park, sit next to the old Chinese chess players, embraced by beautiful music of Chinese opera and think of how the heck this area changes from the notorious 5 points to today’s Chinatown while the rest of Manhattan is being gentrified in lightning speed.

New York Chinatown Vietnamese